Alambhusha

Alambhusha was a strong rākshasa warrior who fought on the Kaurava side in the war at Kurukshetra. He is best remembered for his long fight of māyā (magic and illusion) with Ghaṭotkaca in the night battle of the fourteenth day. The two armies watched in shock. Alambhusha was slain in that fight.

Who he was

Alambhusha was one of the rākshasa warriors who joined the Kaurava side for the war at Kurukshetra. The opening part of the Droṇa Parva names him together with Alāyudha as two terrible (bhayaṃkara) rākshasas who took the Kaurava side. Ghaṭotkaca killed both of them.

Chapter 174 of the Droṇa Parva also says that Alambhusha was the son of Jaṭāsura.

In the war

Alambhusha and Ghaṭotkaca were both proud, swollen-headed rākshasas, equal in pride and in strength. The Droṇa Parva tells that in the night battle after Jayadratha’s death, Alambhusha again faced Ghaṭotkaca on the Kaurava side. They fought with the magic arts of the rākshasa race. Both became invisible and made hundreds of illusions, and everyone who saw them was amazed. The Droṇa Parva compares their fight to the old battle between Indra and Śambara.

On the night of the fourteenth day, Kuntibhoja, a mahārathika (great chariot-fighter) on the Pāṇḍava side, came with a large army and faced Alambhusha directly. Their fight is likened to the battle of Indra and Jambhāsura. Kuntibhoja’s arrows struck Alambhusha, and he blazed like a flowering palāśa tree. He fought back with fury, wounded Kuntibhoja with many iron arrows and roared in a terrifying way.

In the end Ghaṭotkaca killed Alambhusha in the night battle. Chapter 174 of the Droṇa Parva clearly confirms the killing. Both Alambhusha and Alāyudha died in this great night battle at the hands of Ghaṭotkaca.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva (the opening part, and the night battle after the death of Jayadratha)
• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapter 174